October 2008

There’s a terror in doing something for the first time, of course. Will I do well? Will I do it “right”? Will I even make it through to the end in one piece? Will they like me? What is more terrifying, by far, is to do the next thing. Even if you do well. Especially […]

I do likes me a grand finale. Yes, I do. For mine, I pulled off a 60-minute presentation with nothing but my bare hands and a stack of index cards. You shoulda been there. (Well, some of you were. Hi! It was kinda fun, huh? Just rolling with it?) Somewhere along the line, I taught […]

This is the mug that stares back at me every time I pick up my phone. It never fails to cheer, but for the past few days, it’s also filled me with homesick longing. There’s no question about it: Seattle is a great town. It feels about as warm and welcoming as a place could […]

Sometimes, the only way you get stuff done is just to commit to it and make a leap of faith. Like this presentation I’m giving on Friday. Hell, like this entire trip, while we’re at it. You form an intention, you get as organized and prepared as you can, and then… You jump. It’s what […]

I suppose it’s a sign of how fantastically, beyond-my-wildest-dreams awesome this trip has been that the little bit of rain I got sprinkled with today so thoroughly dampened my spirits. Truth be told, I didn’t have too many dreams coming up here. Expectations, either. I suspected that this would be a trip that would give […]

You know you have made yourself at home when… …the coffee people start making your order as you walk in. …people on the street ask you for directions. …you finally coax a Los Angeles omelet from your friend’s Seattle stovetop. Two weeks down; one week to go. Here. And then? The rest of my life, […]

The whole of the Pacific Northwest is pretty beautiful, and the bits around Seattle especially so, but there’s something about Portland that says “home” to me. It may be because of its size: Seattle is smaller than New York, Chicago or Los Angeles, but it still feels like a big city. It’s also a little […]

I’m an extreme creature of habit, part of the reason for my current Shake Things Up in ’08 Tour. so when I decided to take a side trip to Portland, I pretty much resigned myself to staying where The BF and I stayed last year, the ultra-groovy Jupiter Hotel, with its Hipster Seal of Approvalâ„¢. […]

After a morning’s worth of work that was weak by any yardstick, I threw my hands in the air (like I just didn’t care) and trundled myself down to yet another fabulous eatery* to meet Cuz, my benefactrix for this stay. During said lunch (and an unplanned stop afterward for not-to-be-missed Honey-Lavender ice cream), the […]

For a place that’s been about 75% sunny and blue-skied since I’ve been here, people squawk an awful lot about rain. I’m happy with it, and even happy going out in it, provided I’ve got the appropriate footwear and rain gear. Relentless sunshine ain’t all it’s cracked up to be, either. (Come on: you’ve never […]